How Did Tom Daley & Dustin Lance Black Meet? They Did Things The Old Fashioned Way With A Dash Of Technology

Being that the Olympics are watched by millions of people around the world, many of the athletes are thrust into the spotlight and become celebrities on their own right, outside of their sport. One such athlete is Tom Daley, the young English diver who won the bronze medal in the 10m platform at the 2012 Olympics. Aside from his impressive diving skills, he had dashing good looks, which made fans all over the world fall for him and wonder about his relationship status. In 2013, Daley came out as bisexual and announced he was in a relationship with Oscar-winning screenwriter Dustin Lance Black. Now that he is heading to the 2016 Rio Olympics, his now-fiancé will definitely be cheering him on so I wonder: How did Tom Daley and Dustin Lance Black meet?

One thing I remember from watching Daley's coming-out YouTube video was that he seemed like he was very smitten with his new boyfriend. Up until that moment, Daley confessed he hadn't really explored a relationship with a man, but his connection with his new boyfriend was immediate and intense.

Since the beginning of their relationship, it seems like Black and Daley have been very open in sharing details of their love, and Daley especially hasn't held back. In December 2013, just a week after he posted his YouTube video, Daley made an appearance on The Jonathan Ross Show and had some very strong and impassioned words to say about Black, which was impressive considering he had just come out. Daley said of their first meeting, “It was love at first sight... I’ve never felt anything like it — and I made the first move.” That's sweet but how exactly did they meet? Luckily, they have shared those adorable details, as well, and they met the good old-fashioned way: at a dinner with friends.

In a cover story for Out 's Love Issue, which came out January 2016, Black and Daley were extremely open about the events of their first meeting, and how quickly everything moved after that. They met at a mutual friend's dinner party in early 2013 when Daley was in town for the Kids' Choice Awards in L.A. Daley said,

"I was in Los Angeles for the Nickelodeon Kids’ Choice Awards, and a friend organized a dinner, and got there at least 45 minutes late. I’m not going to lie: I had no clue who Dustin Lance Black was, or what he did. I just remember thinking, Oh wow, who’s that? As the dinner progressed, I kept on looking at him, and he kept catching me, which was awkward at times, because I would always look away."

It turns out that Black was immediately attracted as well, and it sounds like it was all very obvious to all their friends who were there. Black shared,

"...My friend texted me from across the table, and his text said, 'He’s Google-searching you.' I do that occasionally at dinner tables. But that, in combination with the look, made me think, Something’s up here, but that’s too good to be true... Tom had just won an award at some Nickelodeon TV show, and they were planning to celebrate, and I said, 'I’ve got to go home; I have a script to write.' And Tom took my phone, and he typed his number in with a winky face."

And the rest was history. Both men confessed that they spoke non-stop and were officially "together" after their first real date, which was about two months after they met and also Daley's 19th birthday. In October 2015, Daley and Black announced their engagement in the marriages section of a newspaper, keeping it very old school. Debbie Daley, the diver's mother, told The Telegraph that the families supported the couple and that they would not begin to plan a wedding until after the 2016 Rio Olympics, which Daley had already qualified for.

In the past, Black has been seen cheering on Daley at his major competitions around the world, so there's no doubt that he will be proudly supporting his fiancé in Rio de Janeiro come August. With a first meeting as cute as that, and loving relationship since then, Daley and Black are the real deal.